~ Friends of Unity July 2024 Blog Hop ~

Hello there crafty friend!

It's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! I've been so excited for this month's cue but time has not been on my side. It's been a very busy summer! I wish time would just slow down for a minute so we could enjoy it. It just seems to zip on by! Anywho, before we get to the cue and my cards, I wanted to welcome two super sweet new friends to our hop... Jenni Shamblin and Kari Buss are joining us on the Friends of Unity team! I am so excited to have these talented ladies join us! I hope you'll drop by their blogs and give them a super warm welcome! Now, onto our cue this month...  

This month's cue is Technique!! Woohoo!! Since my time was limited I didn't jump into a new technique as I had hoped to. BUT I did try something a little new with one of my favorite crafty supplies... Distress Crayons from Tim Holtz and Ranger. 

First up is a fun rainbow card!! I love making rainbows! They are so pretty! I used the sunray from the 3-in-1 Stencil from Unity as a guide for my coloring. I used a whole bunch of Distress Crayons: Picked Raspberry, Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron, Mermaid Lagoon, Chipped Sapphire, Shaded Lilac, and Seedless Preserves.

You can check out the video for this fun technique here... Distress Crayon Technique | Rainbow Sunray Background.

This adorable stamp is called Born to Be Loved. As I've mentioned many times before, my daughter loves bunnies so I have a lot of bunny stamps. I like to use them when I make cards for her. I made this one for her just to let her know we love her very much.

I used a rectangle die from the BIG Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies} to die cut the bunny and sentiment. Trimmed up the rainbow background to 4 x 5-1/4" and adhered it to a white A2 top fold card base. I added foam tape to the back of the bunny rectangle and popped it up on the card.

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up the bunny:

Bunny: C00, C1, C3, R00, R20, Colorless Blender

Bow / Dress: RV10, RV13, RV14

Daisy: C00, C1, C3, Y11, Y15, Y35

Grass / Stem: YG11, YG23

Outline: B0000, B000

Next up, a sweet encouragement card for a friend. Another fun technique using a Brushed Pewter Distress Crayon with the Vintage Script Embossing Folder. I love the font on this one. Unfortunately, I believe this one is retired but you could use any script embossing folder. 

This beautiful stamp is called Being Yourself. Isn't she lovely!? I paired her up with a Cut Apart Sentiment Strip {I don't see the same ones on the website but here's another one} and die cut her using a die from the Dashes & Frills Hearts {die set}. I also die cut a piece of vellum card stock. I adhered her to the vellum and then just added glue behind her to adhere the vellum heart to the card.

I trimmed the embossed panel of True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink to 4 x 5-1/4" and adhered it to a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" card front of Brushed Silver card stock from Stampin' Up. And then I adhered the panel to a white A2 top fold card base.

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up this beauty:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E04

Hair: E70, E71, E74

Shirt: RV10, RV13, RV14

Roses: Y11, Y15, RV10, RV13

Leaves / Stems: YG11, YG23, G24

I don't know about you, but I've about had enough of this hot summer weather! LOL! Is it too early to dream of Fall weather?! I don't think so! I used a pretty embossing folder from Love Nicole called Cable Knit. This time I used Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, and Vintage Photo Distress Crayons.

You can check out the video for this fun technique here... Distress Crayon Technique | Add Color to Embossed Backgrounds.

This gorgeous stamp is from the September 2019 Kit of the Month called All Kinds of Holiday Love. She is an absolute favorite of mine! Once I saw the cable knit embossing folder in my stash I knew I had to ink this beauty up! 

I die cut the girl using a die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}. Trimmed the cable knit panel to 4 x 5-1/4" and adhered it to a kraft A2 top fold card base. I cut an edge off the circle and adhered the heat embossed sentiment to the circle. Added foam tape to the back of both pieces and then popped them up on the card.

Here's a quick list of the Copic markers I used to color up this Fall beauty:

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Hair: E70, E71, E74, E77

Cowl: Y11, Y15, Y35, YR000, YR21, YR15, YR16, E53, E55, E57

Now before we get to the hopping, I chose a lucky winner from the comments on last month's hop to win a fun prize and the lucky winner is...

... Becca Yahrling!! Congratulations, Becca!!

Please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. 

Please claim the prize before July 31st, 2024. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from our friends! I can't wait to see how they were inspired by this month's cue. I wonder what other techniques will be shared. I'm doing another fun giveaway this month!! Be sure to hop along and comment on each of the blogs for a chance to win. {When you comment please leave your name just in case it posts as anonymous.} I'll announce the winner next month! 

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Amber

Kari

Gaylynn

Jane

Tammy

Jenni

Dawn

Rachel

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you so much!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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~ Friends of Unity May 2023 Blog Hop ~

   Hello there crafty friend!

It's the first Saturday of May which means it's time for our Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! I've been so excited for this month's cue but I struggled to narrow down what I would create. It's such a fun cue. I hope that you all enjoy it and hop along to see all the wonderful inspiration. Now, onto our cue this month... 

... Inspired By. This wonderful cue was Bobbie Sue's idea and I just love it! I find inspiration in so many places... from blogs, websites, challenges, and even day to day things like store ads. One fabulous source of inspiration that we all share in is the Unity Show & Tell. We are so lucky to have inspiration shared there daily in this wonderful group. If you're not a part of this group on Facebook, I hope you'll join us. I found three wonderful creations in the group that inspired my cards. Let's get to it...

First up is this gorgeous card that our sweet friend, Gaylynn, shared in the Unity Show & Tell group. The beautiful background that Gaylynn created inspired the background for my card.

I used the Vintage Script Embossing Folder to emboss my grey card stock measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I lightly rubbed the embossed (or raised) portion with a white pigment ink pad. I also added a bit of white acrylic paint splatter on the background focusing the splatters diagonally across the background.

Have you seen this new gorgeous stamp from the birthday release? It's called Bittersweet Graduation and it's illustrated by the wonderfully talented Angie Blom. I colored it up with the following Copic Markers:

Grad Cap ~ N0, N2, N4, N6, Y06, Y35

Flowers ~ RV10, RV13, RV14, RV19, RV66

Berries ~ RV10, RV14, RV66, RV69

Leaves ~ G000, G24, G99

Background ~ C00, C1

I trimmed the bottom of the focal panel with my guillotine trimmer and started the cuts on the sides with my trimmer, as well. I then fussy cut the rest of the edge up to the script and flowers and continued fussy cutting leaving a bit of a white border around the image. The focal panel didn't look quite right just on the background. So I die cut a piece of vellum card stock using the second smallest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I adhered the main panel to the vellum layer and then adhered both layers to the card by only adding glue behind the main panel. I finished off the card with a few black gems from my stash. I did end up adding a dot of glue behind that top gem just to help the vellum layer lay flat.

The next card that inspired me is this stunning card shared by Sandra van Blaricum. I was inspired by the flowers and the fussy cut front panel. I love the colors but I went with a different color palette.

My second card features the gorgeous Birthday Blooms... I love this gorgeous big floral stamp! This stamp can be purchased on its own or you can snag the wonderful Peony {Stamp & Stencil} Bundle that includes the gorgeous stamp and a stencil. If you don't like coloring, the stencil is perfect for ink blending over this beauty! AND Unity just released the Birthday Blooms {coordinating die}... unfortunately, it's out of stock already! Wow! That was fast!

I stamped the peony with Black Amalgam ink and colored it up with the following Copic Markers:

Top Left Peony ~ E81, E53, E43, YR31, Y15

Bottom Peonies ~ E81, E41, RV000, R30, Colorless Blender

Leaves ~ YG91, YG95, YG97, Colorless Blender

You can check out my process video {including my copic coloring} here... Vintage Mother's Day Card | Birthday Blooms | Unity Stamp Co.

I fussy cut the Birthday Blooms on the line and then cleaned up the edges by coloring them with a Memento Tuxedo Black marker. I've paired up the stamp with the amazing Vintage Whispers {paper pack} for a square vintage Mother's Day card. I started with a 5 x 10" white card base, scored at 5".  I adhered my papers to the front and the inside of the card. Trimmed them up and then I adhered the flower. Now, when I went back to fussy cut around the flowers all these layers were pretty thick. If I was to redo this I would definitely adhere the flowers to the pattern paper and then trim. Adhere it to the card base and then trim off the extra card base. Just my two cents. The sentiment from the recently released The Very Best Gal was stamped with white pigment ink and then I applied some white embossing powder and melted it with my heat tool. I trimmed it up and adhered it directly to the card. To finish off this card, I added a few rhinestones from last month's Whit Kit.

And inspiration for my last card comes from this darling card by Robin Stanton. I just love the background she created for this card! I had to give it a try!

I kinda love how this one turned out! Hope you like it too! This card features the sweet All Ears stamp that just released for Unity's 15th Birthday! I love this pup! So fun and easy to color. I paired him up with the super sweet Cozy Textiles {paper pack}. 

I die cut the papers using the largest die from the Scallops & Rectangles {nesting dies}. I ended up turning them around so the pup could set on the yellow line. Not at all my typical straight and perpendicular lines... love it! Here's a quick list of the Copic Markers I used to color up the pup: 

Nose ~ N0, N2, N4

Eyes ~ B12

Fur ~ E30, E23, E25, E29

You can check out my process video for this card here... Love You Furever | All Ears | Unity Stamp Co.

I enjoyed this card design so much that I decided to turn it into a sketch. I'm also hosting a sketch challenge for this one with a prize in my Tawny Owl Paperie | Inky Inspiration Facebook group. I've been blessed the last couple weeks with so many crafty goodies from crafty friends... it just makes sense to do a sketch challenge and have a prize!! I hope that you'll join in the fun! The sketch challenge will run from today, May 30, and will end June 26th at 11:59pm PST. Entries must be added to the challenge album in the Tawny Owl Paperie | Inky Inspiration Facebook group to be eligible for a prize. The winner will be chosen randomly from the entries and I'll announce the winner in the group. Hope you'll play along!  

I fussy cut the pup for my card but I did see that Unity released an All Ears {coordinating die}... that's going on my wishlist! I adhered all my layers to a white A2 top fold card that I turned on its side for a horizontal card. And I decided to not add any bling or anything. I think it's cute how it is.

Now before we get to the hopping, I chose a lucky winner from the comments on last month's hop to win a fun prize and the lucky winner is...

... Wilma DeGraffenreid!! Congratulations Wilma!!

Please email me at crystalominkler@gmail.com to claim your prize. 

Prize must be claimed within two weeks. 

Well, that's it for me this time! Please hop along and enjoy some more inspiration from the Friends of Unity! I'm so excited to hop and check out all the pretty creations shared by our friends!! I'm also interested in seeing how each of our friends were inspired. I will be doing another fun giveaway this month!! Be sure to hop along and comment for a chance to win. {When you comment please leave your name just in case it posts as anonymous.} I'll announce the winner next month! 

Let's get to the hopping...

Crystal <--- you're here

up next ---> Bobbie Sue

Gaylynn

Jane

Alaine

Tammy

Colleen

Rachel

Kim

Joyce

Amber

Thanks so very much for supporting our little hop!

We appreciate you!!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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Debossed Inky Resist ~ Technique Tuesday ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Today I'm starting a new series... Technique Tuesday! I'll be sharing fun techniques on the 2nd Tuesday each month with a bit of inspiration and a video. I hope that you'll be inspired to get inky and play along with some of the techniques that I share.

Today's technique is Debossed Inky Resist which is a combination of debossing and heat embossing. Debossing is the opposite of embossing as you are creating an indent in the card stock rather than raising it. I'm using a couple fun embossing folders from my stash along with Distress Oxide inks and a couple of cute Unity stamps.

For my first card I've used a Notebook embossing folder along with Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade and Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide inks. I also used Distress Watercolor card stock for my backgrounds. 

I stamped the adorable camper from the Happy Little Abode set on white card stock and colored it with the following Copic Markers:

Blue-Green ~ BG0000, BG10, BG23

Yellow ~ Y11, Y15, Colorless Blender

Pink ~ R000, R20, RV21

The sentiment was heat embossed using a white pigment ink and white embossing powder. I trimmed it up and popped it up on the card. I also popped up the camper with foam tape.

For my second card I've used a Bricked embossing folder along with Antique Linen, Peacock Feathers, Vintage Photo, and Ground Espresso Distress Oxide inks. I inked up both embossing folders with a clear embossing ink. Next I placed the card stock in the embossing folders and ran them through my Big Shot. I then added some white embossing powder to the card stock and then I melted the powder with my heat tool.

I stamped the cute girl from the Totally Have This {Sassy Girl} set on white card stock and colored it with the following Copic Markers:

Skin ~ E000, E00, E11, E04, R000, R20

Hair ~ E70, E74, E79

Flowers ~ R000, R20, RV21, YG11, G14, Y11

Clothes ~ Y11, Y15, BG0000, BG10, BG23

I fussy cut the camper and girl cutting on the line and also leaving a bit of a border around the leaves, flowers, and the strings on the camper. The edges were all cleaned up by coloring them with a black marker. I adhered the bottom portion of the girl's skirt behind the sentiment and then popped them both up with foam tape. 

You can check out my process video here...  Debossed Inky Resist | Technique Tuesday | Unity Stamp Co. 

What do you think of the Debossed Inky Resist Technique?! I'm curious to see how it looks with some other embossing folders. What about you? Do you have an embossing folder in your stash that you'd like to try this technique with? If you give this fun technique a try, I'd love to see what you create so please share your cards in the Unity Show & Tell group and tag me!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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CAS Envelope Card ~ Greetings this Season ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 Hello there crafty friend!

Sharing a quick CAS card... today is the last day for the awesome Year End Clearance Sale over at Unity! As a cardmaker, I really love when stamps feature cardmaking images and an envelope filled with poinsettias is so gorgeous!! I couldn't wait to ink up the gorgeous Greetings this Season stamps!

I created this CAS card simply by running a card front measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2" through my Big Shot with the Brickwork 3D Embossing Folder from Sizzix and Tim Holtz. I trimmed it to approximately 4-1/4 x 4-1/8" and adhered it to a white A2 top fold card base.

Here's a quick list of the copic markers I used to color up this gorgeous envelope:

Envelope ~ C00, C2, C3

Poinsettias ~ R20, R14, R27, Y06, Y15, Y28

Pine Needles ~ YG03, YG63

Holly ~ YG11, G24, G46

Berries ~ R20, R14, R27

I fussy cut the envelope leaving a white border. I also trimmed the sentiment. I then popped up both on my card with foam tape. Very CAS and pretty easy to make! Head on over to Unity to check out the Year End Sale!! There's a few new releases and some items are as low as 75% off!! Woohoo!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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